The Two Ronnies
Judd Trump made a surprise comparison between Ronnie O’Sullivan and Si Jiahui after his loss on Friday.
Trump said: “This is the best performance there has been against me, by quite far.
“Apart from maybe John Higgins and the odd Ronnie performance, this is as well as you can play.
“It was like an exhibition game for him at the end.”
Eyes on the prize
Si will now face Xiao Guodong in a best-of-19 encounter this weekend.
Xiao, 35, won five consecutive frames as he came from 4-1 down to beat Long Zehuang.
Si said after beating Judd Trump: “I’d give myself nine out of 10 for the performance, with one point off for my safeties.”
Bright future
Trump believes Si Jiahui has just announced himself on the world stage.
There’s big things to come from the 22-year-old sensation after his 6-2 demolition job over the World No. 1 on Friday.
Trump said: “Now people have seen that [win], there will be a lot more pressure on him to win the World Championship and win events.”
“It is difficult to keep playing like that, but it shows he has got it in there.”
Trump impressed
It takes something special to beat Judd Trump, especially after the 2024 he’s had.
Si Jiahui produced just that on Friday, booking his place in the final with a sublime 6-2 win.
An impressed Trump said: “This is the best performance there has been against me, by quite far.
“Apart from maybe John Higgins and the odd Ronnie performance, this is as well as you can play.
“From what I’ve seen he is an absolute mile clear of anyone his age or within five years of him.
“It is difficult to keep playing like that, but it shows he has got it in there.
“Now people have seen that, there will be a lot more pressure on him to win the World Championship and win events.”
Final countdown
Si Jiahui is into the final after a stunning win over Judd Trump.
And it was memorable for the Chinese star’s maiden 147.
He told WST: “I didn’t feel much pressure, so I played very smoothly.
“I kept a calm mindset. I’ve lost a lot of matches whilst making 60-plus breaks against him before, so I didn’t think too much about beating him.
“I just focused on learning from him and playing my own game. Luck was on my side and I’m really happy to have made a 147.”
